2-741-177 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Sleeve from a Tunic, 700s. Classical figures and winged animals continued to be popular during the early Islamic period. The nude male may depict Dionysus (Greek god of wine) holding his thyrsos staff, ornamented with ivy leaves and pine cones, and pouring liquid from a small jug for the panther. The colourful and detailed winter-weight woolen tunic fragments would have decorated a tunic as seen in the square displayed nearby showing two figures within a jeweled border (1979.58). Photo of: Detail of the Panther's Head, Right Decorative Band from the Front or Back of a Tunic (1982.107.b) The facial features were achieved in tapestry weave by interlacing coloured horizontal wefts only where they were needed in the panther's head.